Pop star Dua Lipa has said it “feels like my two sides are now one” after being granted Kosovo citizenship.
The singer was born in London to Kosovan-Albanian parents, and she lived in the capital Pristina briefly from the age of 11 when her parents returned after Kosovo gained independence.
President Vjosa Osmani, who hosted the ceremony, said it was an “honour” granting Lipa citizenship, hailing her as “one of the most iconic cultural figures in our country’s history”.
In a statement, Lipa added: “It completes the duality I have always had within. I love this country and this means so much to me and my family.”
Sharing photographs of the ceremony on X, Osamni wrote: “Dua and Kosovo have always been inseparable. From the world’s biggest stages to the hearts of millions, she’s carried our story with strength, pride, and grace...
“Our gratitude is endless for everything Dua has done, and continues to do for Kosovo.”
“Kosovo’s gem - welcome back home,” she added in a separate post.
Lipa is currently in Kosovo for the three-day Sunny Hill Festival, which she headlined on Friday.
Lipa has often spoken of her love for the country, and set up a charity that focuses on helping vulnerable communities in Kosovo.
The Radical Optimism singer was greeted at the ceremony by a children’s choir, singing a rendition of her hit Levitating.
Also in attendance was UK Ambassador to Kosovo, Jonathan Hargreaves.
He posted a picture smiling alongside Lipa on X, and said the UK and Kosovo were proud to call the pop star “one of our own”.
Lipa now has citizenship for Britain, Albania and Kosovo.
She was granted Albanian citizenship in 2022 for promoting the country through her music and fame.
Lipa was also awarded the title of Honorary Ambassador of Kosovo by the president in 2022.
She said it was an “honour and a privilege to be able to represent my country all over the world and to continue my work and efforts globally”.
After her performance at the Sunny Hill Festival on Friday, she wrote on Instagram: “Sharing this night with you all, in the city that shaped me, surrounded by so much energy, joy, and pride… it’s hard to put into words what it means.”
Lipa established the music event in her parents’ hometown with her father in 2018.
The festival, she explained last year, was set up “to change the rhetoric of what people think about Kosovo and it being war-torn”.
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, after years of strained relations between its Serb and mainly Albanian inhabitants.
It has been recognised by the UK, US and the other G7 nations and most EU states, although not Spain or Greece.
But Serbia refuses to recognise Kosovo, as do most ethnic Serbs inside Kosovo. Russia, China and several African and Latin American nations also do not recognise its independence.
Source: BBC
--Agencies
